FEBRUARY NATURAL GAS PRICES DOWN SLIGHTLY FROM JANUARY; JANUARY WEATHER A LITTLE WARMER THAN NORMAL

Media Contacts: Bob McKeon (402) 437-1812
Black Hills Media Line (866) 243-9002

LINCOLN, Neb., Feb. 5, 2009 – February natural gas prices for Black Hills Energy traditional billing residential customers in Nebraska are 1 percent to 2 percent lower than in January and 8 percent to 15 percent lower than February 2008. The ranges reflect suppliers’ natural gas costs and pipeline costs to transport natural gas to the areas in Nebraska that Black Hills Energy serves.

And though the winter so far has been slightly colder than a normal Nebraska winter, January was 4.5 percent warmer than a normal Nebraska January.

Because of Black Hills Energy’s cycle billing, bills being received this month will have a combination of January and February usage on them. Some customers who have received bills so far this month are seeing slight reductions in their bills due to lower natural gas prices in January than in December; small reductions in their billed usage, probably due to the slightly warmer-than-normal temperatures; and a return to a normal billing cycle instead of the previous holiday billing cycle.

“Price and usage are the biggest factors affecting a customer’s bill, and weather greatly affects how much natural gas is used,” said Dan Mechtenberg, Black Hills Energy vice president of Nebraska Natural Gas Operations. “While gas prices have remained stable and are lower than last year, natural gas usage in February is typically high which can result in customers receiving high bills in February and into March depending on weather and their billing cycle.”

Black Hills Energy offers a budget billing program to level out monthly payments and spread winter bills over the entire year. The company also encourages any customer experiencing a financial difficulty affecting their ability to pay their bill to contact the company right away so a payment arrangement can be worked out or a referral made to an energy assistance agency.

Black Hills Energy also sponsors Black Hills Cares, the company’s energy assistance program that provides customer and company contributions for residential energy assistance. Customers can indicate on their bill the amount they want to contribute monthly. In Nebraska, Salvation Army’s HeatShare program disburses Black Hills Cares funds.

For more information on programs and services from Black Hills Energy, customers are encouraged to contact the Black Hills Energy Customer Service Center at (888) 890-5554. Customer service associates are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or customers can visit www.blackhillsenergy.com.

Black Hills Energy serves 197,000 natural gas customers in 110 eastern Nebraska communities. Black Hills Energy is part of Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) — a diversified energy company with a tradition of exemplary service and a vision to be the energy partner of choice — based in Rapid City, S.D. The company has other main offices in Golden, Colo., and Omaha, Neb. Black Hills Corp.’s regulated utilities serve 750,000 electric and natural gas utility customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company’s non-regulated businesses generate wholesale electricity, produce natural gas, oil and coal, and market energy. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.

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